As Droves Flock to Washington, Republicans Find Reasons to Leave

Some were heading out West to hit the slopes. Some were traveling south for warmer climes. Others were merely popping across the river for a boozy night with friends.

But as hundreds of thousands of Americans descended on Washington for President Obama’s inauguration, the one place that many Republicans said they would not be, if they could help it, was anywhere near the nation’s capital.

“It’s a chance for President Obama and his supporters to enjoy the city, and for those of us that didn’t support him, there are better places to be,” said Charlie Spies, a Republican lawyer and Mitt Romney supporter who, along with his wife, Lisa, organized a trip to Las Vegas for nearly 100 Republicans over inauguration weekend.

“Almost everybody I’ve talked to has said they’re getting out of town,” he added. “I would be surprised if you found many Republicans at all were in downtown D.C. on Monday.”

The decision, many say, was not born out of any animosity for Mr. Obama’s re-election celebration. Rather, the concern was largely logistical and pragmatic. Washington all but shuts down during inaugurations because of security and crowd concerns. And because Republicans are hardly A-list guests this time around, the occasion provided an easy excuse for a long weekend out of town.

Mr. Spies’s Las Vegas excursion — complete with its own slogan, “We Still Believe in America,” a cheeky play on Mr. Romney’s campaign slogan, “Believe in America” — is perhaps the most elaborate of the Republican gatherings. Mr. Spies, who served as the treasurer of a pro-Romney “super PAC,” said he held a similar gathering in Las Vegas four years ago for about 20 friends who were veterans of President George W. Bush’s administration. But the group this time has ballooned and includes a mix of former Romney campaign staff members and supporters and clients of Mr. Spies.

The main events, complete with showgirls, “Inaugural Dinner 2013” T-shirts and food by Wolfgang Puck, were to be held on Sunday night at both the Wynn Las Vegas (owned by Steve Wynn, a billionaire Romney supporter) and the Venetian (owned by Sheldon Adelson, another billionaire Romney supporter).

The weekend, Mr. Spies said, was planned to be a mix of work and play — part Romney reunion, part look ahead to 2014 and even 2016.

“For those of us who cared deeply about the race and believe we need to protect the Republican majority in the House and believe we need to do better in the next election, it will be a chance to strategically talk about how we move forward,” he said. “It’s too important that we start planning for the future to just play. We also need to do a little planning.”

For others, talking political shop was distinctly beside the point. Ben Ginsberg, a Republican lawyer who served as national counsel for Mr. Romney’s campaign, left town with his family on Wednesday for what he called a “ski to sea” vacation — flying to California to visit San Francisco, Sonoma, Napa and Tahoe.

“Inaugurations are wonderful events when you have a role, are attending the ceremony or going to the parties,” he wrote in an e-mail. “If not, it means bad traffic.”

Russ Schriefer, one of Mr. Romney’s top strategists on his most recent presidential bid, left on Thursday for “four or five days of skiing” in Davos, Switzerland. His wife, a journalist, was already headed there for a conference, and he decided to tag along. Though the couple hosted an inauguration party four years ago for out-of-town friends, Mr. Schriefer said that this time, “the thrill is gone.”

“It’s sort of a nothing right now; it’s not getting the attention it got four years ago,” he said. “It feels like it’s going to come and it’s going to go, and unless you’re really paying attention, you’ll hardly know that it’s been here — other than staying away from downtown for a few days.”

Kevin Sheridan, who worked on Mr. Romney’s campaign and is now an executive vice president at JDA Frontline, said that during Mr. Obama’s first inauguration, he skipped the chilly temperatures of Washington for a trip to the Caribbean. This time, he and much of the Washington-based staff at his firm were taking a “well-timed” annual work retreat to Charleston, S.C., where they have another office.

“D.C. is a wonderful town,” he said. “D.C. with a few extra hundred thousand out-of-towners is not an easy place to navigate, and I figure I’m doing my little part to make a little extra space for those who are here to party.”

Still, Mr. Sheridan added: “I wish them luck. It’s a great moment for the country, but they don’t need me to be here for it.”

The working retreat, in fact, seems to be a preferred excuse for leaving Washington. Ron Bonjean, a Republican strategist, was headed to Mexico with a small group of Republicans.

“The inauguration is happening, and with all of the inaugural activities occurring, it seemed like the perfect opportunity for a work retreat out of town,” he said.

Yet some were not leaving the area at all. Matt Beynon, the president of Madison Strategic Ventures, a Republican consulting firm, said on Friday that a group of his friends — mostly fellow Republican consultants and lobbyists — were headed to Northern Virginia for a night out.

“Regardless of what party you’re with, it is a time to inaugurate a new president,” he said. “That’s a great thing in our republic, and instead of sitting home and watching an episode of ‘How I Met Your Mother,’ we’d rather go out and have a few drinks with friends.”

But Mr. Beynon himself decided to skip town at the last minute. Again, nothing against Mr. Obama, he said, but he was headed to South Carolina to help with the special election to choose a successor for former Representative Tim Scott, who was recently appointed to the Senate.

A version of this article appears in print on , Section A, Page 14 of the New York edition with the headline: As Droves Flock to Washington, Republicans Find Reasons to Leave. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe